Tirupati, Jan 3 || Security personnel and devotees at the historic Sri Govindarajaswamy Temple in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh were sent into a state of panic after an inebriated man climbed the temple's 100-foot 'Gopuram' (monumental entrance tower), causing a massive security scare, the police said on Saturday.
He has been detained and taken to the Tirupati police station for questioning.
The individual, identified as Kuttadi Tirupati, a resident of Nizamabad district, managed to scale the intricate carvings of the tower before he perched himself at a precarious height in the early morning hours of Saturday, according to a local media report.
The man appeared visibly intoxicated and remained atop the structure for more than an hour, prompting a swift response from the temple administration and the police, the report said quoting an eyewitness.
"The individual bypassed the primary security cordon and ascended the Gopuram. Our teams, along with the Fire and Emergency Services, acted immediately to bring him down safely without any damage to the heritage structure," a senior Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) official said.